Preliminary Assessment of HOCl Electrolyzer Design Strategies for Field-Deployable Systems

This project addresses the challenge of designing compact, field-deployable electrolyzer systems for producing hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a safe and effective antimicrobial agent with growing relevance in wound care, humanitarian response, and combat casualty care. Despite HOCl’s broad-spectrum efficacy and favorable safety profile, current production systems are bulky, proprietary, and poorly suited to decentralized use.
The research will explore candidate technologies to guide the development of a modular, energy-efficient HOCl generator tailored to real-world deployment needs. Lab-scale evaluation will focus on identifying viable performance envelopes, assessing adaptability of existing electrolyzer designs, and defining pathways for integration into decentralized formats.
The anticipated benefits are both social and economic. The project contributes to innovation in health-related clean technologies, supports the training of skilled talent in electrochemical engineering, and strengthens Canada’s capacity to deliver scalable, locally manufactured solutions for infection control and emergency response. By advancing practical HOCl generation systems, the initiative aims to improve access to safe antimicrobial tools across dual use contexts, particularly in remote, under-resourced, or conflict-affected settings

Faculty Supervisor:

Maxime van der Heijden

Student:

Partner:

BIOMIQ

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: